Tornillo Tent City contract up July 13; federal government could extend contract based on need
Officials with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said the contract for the Tornillo facility that is housing undocumented minors is up on July 13.
Mark Weber, a spokesman for Health and Human Services, said it’s up to the federal government’s discretion to extend the contract at the facility. The contract is with San Antonio-based non profit BCFS Health and Human Serviced.
“The federal government will make a decision about future needs and bed capacity,” Weber said. “If we need to stand up beds when this contract is over, we certainly will. We don’t want kids in Border Patrol facilities.”
Officials with HHS said on Monday that there are 326 unaccompanied minors at the Tornillo facility, 14 of them are girls. Officials added, 67 of those children have been released to family or sponsors.
Weber said 26 of the children staying at the facility were separated from their families as a result of the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy.
“This country is taking care of children. We’re not going to let them die in the desert. As a result, we have facilities like this where children can be well taken care of while they wait for some kind of reunification,” Weber said.
While on a tour of the Tornillo Tent Facility, officials told ABC-7 reporter Julio-Cesar Chavez that it costs about $700 per day to house one child.
Weber said on average, children are in HHS custody an average of 57 days.
“There’s a lot of safety precautions. We do not want to release a child too soon, too fast, because we didn’t take the care to ensure that that child is going to be reunited with a parent or an appropriate loved one that the parent has designated,” Weber said.
Weber also said children could end up being housed at Fort Bliss if the Tornillo Tent Facility ends up closing.
“We wanted to make sure we have enough beds so that children don’t end up in Border Patrol facilities, so that Border Patrol can do their job,” Weber said. “Fort Bliss is on the list. We’re always looking for potential sites, just in case there is some kind of surge.”
HHS also released a daily schedule of activities for the children:
